Walter Kaiser Jr is a distinguished Old Testament scholar with a high view of Scripture. The Majesty of God is a systematic and fairly detailed study of the book of Job, but Dr Kaiser whets our appetite at the very start by pointing out that Martin Luther considered Job as being ‘magnificent and sublime as no other book of Scripture’, and Victor Hugo that it was ‘perhaps the greatest masterpiece of the human mind’ (pp.10-11).
Dr Kaiser writes for the non-specialist, but is not afraid to describe aspects about the Hebrew language and the book’s wider cultural background, and does so in a relevant, clear, and helpful way. The end of each chapter contains a brief conclusion and several questions to consider. This makes the book ideal for a Bible study group.
There are some niggles. Paragraphs written in a clear and direct style are mingled with clunky, repetitive, jargon-laden prose. The death of Job’s children is described as ‘the loss of his kid’s skins’ (p.31); his complaints as ‘bellyaching’ (p.71); and his ‘comforters’ as ‘dudes’ (p.86). Also there is an endorsement of dreams as a means of God speaking to us today, despite noting that it is impossible to refute them as a revelation from God, even though they might have been caused by ‘eating too much food too late in the evening!’ (pp.82, 183).
Colin Hamer
Kirby Cross
